The invention relates to a functional module in accordance with the preamble of claim 1.
Functional modules of the type under discussion generally constitute electronics modules that have specified functionalities.
Functional modules of this type can, as an example, be components of safety systems, in particular locking safety systems. One system of this type is the MGB safety system of the company Euchner, for example. This safety system ensures that movable, separating protective equipment is reliably kept closed, in particular protective doors, and that access is consequently secure to fenced-in, hazardous areas that are critical for safety.
This locking safety system is comprised of a locking module that is arranged on a handle module. These modules serve to reliably keep the protective door closed. The door handle of the handle module can be held in the closed position via spring force and unlocked via magnetic force. Alternatively, the door handle can be held in the closed position via magnetic force and unlocked via spring force.
The functionality of the locking module can be expanded by having additional submodules, for instance a button module as a control unit.
A first drawback of a locking safety system of this type is that the entire locking safety system has to be sent back to the manufacturer for repair purposes when a defect arises.
Another drawback of the locking safety system is that the construction expenses for an adaptation to different configurations are undesirably high. Different configurations especially arise via different arrangements of the protective door relative to the locking safety system. An arrangement of the handle module has to be provided on the right-hand side or on the left-hand side of the locking module depending on the arrangement of the protective door. To cover these configurations, different variants of the locking module have to be provided that have the different designs for an attachment of the handle module on the right-hand side or on the left-hand side.